


A father's duty

by paupotter_4869



Category: Crazy Stupid Love (2011)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-22
Updated: 2016-02-22
Packaged: 2018-05-22 14:33:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,701
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6083001
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/paupotter_4869/pseuds/paupotter_4869
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Wrapping up the conversation between Jacob and Cal in the bar, two weeks after the family quarrel.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A father's duty

**Author's Note:**

> Had this idea in mind ever since I watched the movie in 2011, but never got to writing it till now. Enjoy!

"Jacob, listen, I like you, I really do. You’re a very good friend who helped me in my most hour of need and I thank you for that. I owe you one, big. You could ask me almost anything and I'd try to do it for you. Anything, except this. She’s my daughter. There are things that I simply cannot overlook." 

He sighs, letting the words sink in, knowing it’s closely as painful to hear them than to pronounce them. But in the end, despite all the pain, beyond the exasperation for not having any more arguments on his behalf, he understands. Without much bitterness, just an honest statement as a farewell, he whispers: 

"You're a good father, Cal." 

_I'm trying to be, regardless of how hard this is for my whole family_ , Carl'd like to add, but before these words have formed inside his mind, Jacob's long gone without looking behind. Like so many things in Cal's life lately. So he takes yet another drink and its strange bitterness makes him remember his previous rude and incredibly impolite exchange with the bartender. 

Outside of the bar Jacob stops mid-track couple feet away from the bar’s door, trying to clear off his head. He just can’t, and he turns around to face the door, ready to get inside and shout at Cal “ _But you’re also an irrational man, an unforgiving man, an utter unsupportive friend._ ”

He is all that, that’s for sure, but above all, he’s and he’ll forever be a father, Hanna’s father, and he’s completely entitled to behave like this, in order to protect his child. He calls the shots. That is something two weeks ago he wouldn’t have understood. He never had to understand a father’s reasons when he was younger--and now he’s facing it at full scale. Although he’s able to understand Cal, he’s also mature enough to see they’re not compelled to obey his rules, or rather, they’re old enough to defy him and resume their own lives. 

So he shakes his head, deciding against bursting into the bar. He climbs into his car, all he can think of, _At least you tried_ , while the engine revs up and he drives home. A place which somehow, blissfully, means Hannah also. Cal must be fearing so too right now, not on such a gleeful note. If it weren’t for Cal and their broken relationship, Jacob would have thought he’s living some sort of miracle. Meeting Hannah most certainly was, and he wasn’t exactly lying when he truthfully agreed that he probably doesn’t deserve her. If he were a better man, or if he were a true friend, he probably should or would leave Hannah. But both parties have been fairly clear about that--none of them is willing to end their relationship, no matter the long-term consequences concerning Cal. Despite them both would be so much happier with his blessing, they can accept they won't be getting it. Or pretend they do, and live their lives. 

When he gets home, it surprises him that Hannah doesn’t greet him at the entrance--meaning a welcoming kiss, possibly followed by a quick fifteen-minute stop at the dormitory--though after seeing Cal, he’s almost glad she doesn’t. But after a tour around the house, he doesn’t find her neither in the study, the living room or the kitchen, either studying or robbing the fridge. He sighs when he realizes where she is and with a chuckle, he heads down to the garage. 

Indeed she’s there, rummaging his--their--stuff packed up in all the boxes against the walls of the garage. She’s creating two piles with the purchased items: one of things they may keep, if he’s in desperate desire to, and one of things that are going directly to the bin of the street. Can’t really blame her for her decisions, and after all, they do need more space in the garage. 

"Are you still not done rummaging these?", he asks pretending an exasperated voice, while coming up to Hannah and hugging her from behind, swinging their both bodies. 

"There's still that wall of boxes,” she says, signaling with her thumb, not bothering to turn around to look at him or to kiss him back. 

"So you're not done humiliating me,” he summarizes. 

"Not even close,” she burst laughing, and leans forward to grab something from a shelf. “So, I found this. A badge of the American flag with only forty-eight stars--” 

“Dating back to Eisenhower’s presidency,” Jacob explains. 

“Sorry, didn’t know that,” grants Emma, turning to look at him. “And a collection of useless half cents coins with the Liberty Cap.” 

“No need to be harsh,” laughs Jacob, taking the said coins from her hands. “Well, the coins are definitely fake and we wouldn’t get that much selling them, so you can pile it on the left.” 

“You want to keep the badge, then?”, she asks, lowering the coins like in a scale. 

“Well, it’s not easy to count on a such a small badge forty-eight stars instead of fifty, ain’t it?” 

“Guess you’re right.” 

Jacob releases Hannah and lets her move, first to the pile on the right of the garage, where she leaves the badge where it doesn’t fall over, and later on the pile on the right, where she places without much concern the collection of coins. Having done that, she resumes her rummaging of the present box. He lets her work for a few minutes, not having the heart to stop her and much less, to tell her his disastrous conversation with Cal. But obviously, couldn’t make Hannah not to ask him, as after all, he hasn’t told her what his plans for the afternoon were. 

"So, where were you, anyway?", she asks without a suspicion threat on her voice. 

He sighs, now truly desperate, and finds himself a seat at the car’s hood, given the lack of an appropriate place to sit, since the massaging chair was the first item out of the house. 

“Jacob?”, she asks, demanding an answer. 

"If I tell you, will you get mad?", he begs. They did agree not to contact him until he did. 

With that question, he gets Hannah’s full attention. She forgets all about the boxes and his obsessive-compulsive behavior with buying stupid things on the Internet and turns to look at him. 

"Where were you, Jacob?", she demands. " _Who_ were you with?", she adds after looking again at him from head to toes. 

"I went to see Cal. Your father," he mends almost automatically. It’s still weird for him to think of Cal, one of his already considered best friends, as his girlfriend’s father. 

“What?! Why?”, she shrieks, coming dangerously close to him. 

“Because he’s your father, because it’s my fault you and him are mad at each other.” 

“No, it’s not! It’s his fault for being such an immature and stupid--” 

“Don’t talk like that about him,” he begs. Even if he thought those adjectives himself not so long ago, he can’t bare to actually say them out loud referring to Cal, nor hearing Cal's beloved daughter uttering such harsh and impolite adjectives while talking about her father. No matter how it hurts him to say so, he understands Cal’s point of view. 

“He doesn’t deserve any better,” replies Hannah. “He doesn’t deserve you going looking for him. Hey, you don’t even owe him an apology! Tell me you didn’t go to apologize!” 

“I didn’t. Not exactly”, he says at once. “Hey, it’s been two weeks since that afternoon, I thought we could bury the war’s hatchet. I wanted to. For your sake, and mine too--He’s one of my best friends.”

 “A friend who doesn’t forgive you? Who doesn’t approve of your relationships?” 

Jacob sighs. He’s had this internal argument too many times now. “A good father wouldn’t. And despite his flaws, you can’t say he isn’t a good parent.” 

“Not as good a parent as I’ve always thought he was.” 

“You can’t honestly blame him.” 

“Yes I can, when my boyfriend’s the target!” 

After Hannah’s shout, that echoes deafeningly in the small garage, the two of them remain silent for a few seconds. Then, either if that’s because she’s out of arguments or rather out of energy to keep on fighting and shouting, she turns around and resumes rummaging the carton box a little bit too enthusiastic. She deliberates about five or six items, throwing all of them to the pile on the left without really considering them through, before she says any other word.

“And?”, she asks almost afraid. Despite everything, she’s as interested as Jacob himself to fix things with Cal. 

Jacob, pleading eyes, stands up, walks towards her, hugs her and placing his head on her shoulder, he whispers.

“I’m sorry.”

She understands at once and, breaking Jacob's heart in another piece, she doesn't respond verbally. She simply acknowledges his feelings by a simple nod of her head, focused on whatever she's got in her hands, trying not to break down, either in a rage wave or crying. So, he can do nothing but insist.

“I am, I truly am,” he presses. “It’s not fair for any one of you, and I’m sorry I’ve put you both in this situation--” 

“Hey,” Hannah stops him. She’s dropped whatever she was holding and turns around to face Jacob, a small, forced smile on her lips, placing both her arms around Jacob’s neck. “It’s OK, I’ve told you. I’m a grown-up woman and I can take my own choices. And if it’s a matter of my father of you--Well, I should l probably leave you, shouldn't I?” 

“Don’t joke about this,” begs Jacob, cocking his head to one side, though he’s laughing as loud as Hannah herself. 

“I’m not,” she says, standing on tiptoe to get closer to his mouth. “It’s you, Jacob, you know that. Forget about my father.” 

Jacob grunts and closes his eyes, not moving the few inches to kiss Hannah’s lips just yet.

“Please don’t mention your father when I’m about to kiss you,” he asks, almost begs; the image isn't at all pleasurable. Hannah bursts laughing and without another word she meets Jacob’s lips.


End file.
